Dr. Thomas Ichim Appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Batu Biologics Inc.

SAN DIEGO, May 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Batu Biologics Inc. announced today the appointment of Dr. Thomas Ichim to the position of its President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ichim has a track record of success in the area of clinical translation of cellular and immune-based therapies having successfully obtained 4 Investigational New Drug Application clearances with the FDA for products he developed. Additionally, Dr. Ichim has published 120 peer-reviewed papers1 and is inventor on 130 patents and patent applications.

"Having previously worked with Dr.Ichim at Medistem, where we successfully took an angiogenesis based cell therapy from concept to exit, I look forward to working with Thomas in replicating the same success in the field of angiogenesis inhibition." Said Dr. Alan Lewis, Chairman of Batu Biologics.

Batu Biologics is a clinical stage immunotherapy company developing ValloVax™, an allogeneic cellular vaccine that specifically programs the immune system to kill the blood vessels that feed tumors2. Efficacy of the vaccine has been demonstrated in a variety of animal models3, and early clinical safety has been previously published in a case series4. Vallovax' IND has been cleared by the FDA.

"The last decade has seen the rise and commercialization of numerous immunotherapeutic approaches to cancer, which appear to be less toxic and potentially more effective compared to standard chemotherapy." Said Dr. Vlad Bogin, Board Member of Batu Biologics and CEO of Cromos Pharma. "Having worked previously with Dr. Ichim at using cells to promote blood vessel growth, I am very excited to work together again, this time at "choking" the tumor by using the immune system."

Samuel Wagner, the previous CEO of Batu Biologics, has moved on to other opportunities.

"Batu Biologics is at a very exciting inflection point," Dr. Ichim said. "The company has gathered a wealth of preclinical and clinical data which supports the design of the FDA cleared clinical trial in lung cancer that is anticipated to commence in the next quarter. I want to express gratitude to the Board for this opportunity and look forward to working collaboratively to grow the Company, expand the portfolio and increase shareholder value."

About Batu Biologics

Batu Biologics, is an immuno-oncology Company dedicated to the development and commercialization of its clinical stage, IND-cleared, tumor-angiogenesis targeting immunotherapy, ValloVax™. By targeting the blood vessels that feed tumors, studies show that for every single blood vessel that is killed, approximately 200-300 tumor cells die. The utilization of the immune system to kill the cancer blood vessels allows for initiation of immunological memory, which reduces chances of tumor recurrence. To date ValloVax™ has shown no toxicity. To learn more please visit https://www.batubiologics.com.